Apparatus and method for treating filamentary material



Nov. 10, 1964 L. E PARKER 3,

APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR TREATING FILAMENTARY MATERIAL Filed Oct. 50,1959 mvsmn LEWIS E. PARKER ATTORNEY United States Patent I 3,156,582APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR TREATING FILAMENTARY MATERIAL I Lewis E.Parker, Charlotte, N.C., assignor to E. I. du Pont de Nemours andCompany, Wilmington, Del.,-a corporation of Delaware u t Filed Oct. 30,1959, s... No. 849,952 6 Claims. (Cl. 117-111 strand, and changes in theviscosity and surface tensionv of the conditioning agent all lead tonon-uniform application. 'In addition, in systems which utilize anexcess of the agent, variations in both the quality and quantity.

of finish being applied often occur, due to the mixing and recirculationof the agent after it has contacted the filamentary material.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide meansfor applying an accurately predetermined amount of liquid conditioningagent to a moving strand in a-uniformmannerL Another object of thisinvention resides in applying a uniform amount of a liquid conditioningagent to a moving strand which may be moving at varying rates of speedor have varying geometrical configurations. Other objects of thisinvention will be apparent from a consideration of the followingdetailed description. t v

'The objects of this invention areaccomplished by the use of liquidapplying apparatus which will be described in connection with theaccompanying drawing wherein the figure is a schematic plan view of theapparatus of this invention.

Referring to the drawing, a quantity of liquid conditioning agent isstored in liquid storage tank 10. Tank 10 is, in turn, connected tometering pump 1'3 and then to liquid reservoir 12 by conduit means 11. Aliquid applicator roll 14 is rotatably mounted in reservoir 12 so thatit is partially immersed in the liquid.

In operation, a strand of filamentary material 15, supported by guides16 and 16', is passed over applicator roll 14-which is rotated inreservoir 12 by means of chain 17 which is driven by variable speedmotor 18. As roll 14 is rotated, liquid is picked up on its surface andtransferred to the moving strand.

'A predetermined amount of liquid is continuously metered by positivedisplacement pump 13 to reservoir- 12. The exact amount of liquid iscontrolled by the speed of travel of strand 15. This is accomplished bythe arrangement shown in which pump. 13 is indirectly driven through agear box 19 by a common driving means, motor 20, which drives pull rolls26 and 26', which move the strand across roll 14; In the embodimentshown in the figure, power from motor 20 is transmitted to gear box 19by means of chain 21. By selecting a suitable gearing ratio, the rate offiow of liquid from tank 10 to reservoir 12 is regulated to supplytheexact quantity of liquid desiredto be transferred to the strand, thequantity supplied changing in response to changes in the strand speed.

All of the liquid metered to reservoir 12 is applied to strand 15. Asthe liquid level rises or falls in the reservoir, the hydrostaticpressure at the bottom of the reser-.

voir and in line 22 increases or decreases, thereby activating apressure responsive control system consisting. of a pressure transducer23 and the variable speed control unit 24 for motor 18. Line voltage isdelivered via leads 25 to the control system. In response to the signalsfrom thespeed control unit, motor 18 changes speed which in turn changesthe speed of roll 14. If the level'in the reservoir rises, thisindicates that an insufiicient amount of liquid is being applied tostrand 15. Accordingly, the speed of roll 14 is automatically increased.Similarly, as the liquid level falls, the speed of roll 14 is decreased.The control'system is sensitive enough to maintain an essentiallyconstant level in the reservoir.

Comparative tests were conducted using the apparatus of this inventionand apparatus which utilized a constant level liquid reservoir and aconstant speed applicator roll. Inthe apparatus of this invention, aModel 174 pressure transmitter, manufactured by the Moore ProductsCompany, Philadelphia, Pa., was positioned at the-bottom of reservoir12. The pneumatic signal from'the de- -vice was transmitted to a Model58P4WVC-controller,

' manufactured by the Foxboro Company, Foxboro, Mass,

which in turn actuated an air cylinder positioned to drive a 10,000 ohmpotentiometer. The signal from the potentiometer was fed to a variablespeed motor, manufactured by the Reliance Electric & Engineering Co.,Cleveland, Ohio. v

In the tests, a 3.0 denier (0.33 tex.), 126,800 filament acrylonitrilefiber tow was passed at a speed of 200 .yards per minute across thesurface of an applicator roll having a diameter of two inches. Thereservoir con tained a conditioning agent consisting of a mixture ofatty esters and adiphatic hydrocarbons having'an average kinematicviscosity of eight ccntistokes. In each test the conditioning agent wasmetered at a rate of 136 grams per minute by a positive displacementpump tothe reservoir.

After treatment, the conditioning agent was removed by solventextraction from sections along the tow to determine the uniformity ofapplication in each test. It was found that a 30% improvement inuniformity was obtained using the apparatus of this invention.

Although the present invention has been described with referenceto'specific driving and control elements, it isto be understood thatother known devices which perform the same function may be substitutedtherefor. Other modifications in the form and construction of the apparatus and the method of using it may likewise be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of this inventhe build up ofimpurities in the liquid, due to recirculation and stagnation, does notoccur.

I claim:

1. In apparatus for applying liquid to moving filamentary material,the'combinationcomprising a liquid reservoir having an applicator rollrotatably mounted therein, a liquid supply tank, conduit meansconnecting saidreservoir and said tank, a pump disposed in said conduitmeans for forwarding liquid from said tank to said reservoir, forwardingmeans for moving said filamentary material across said roll, and drivingmeansfor rotating said roll, said forwarding means being operativelyconnected to said pump to provide a rate of flow of liquid from saidtank to said reservoir proportional to the speed of travel of saidfilamentary material, control means responsive to the level of theliquid in said reservoir opcratively connected to said driving means forincreasing and decreasing the speed of said roll.

, 2. Apparatus for applying liquid to a moving strand of filamentarymaterial comprising a liquid reservoir, an applicator roll rotatablymounted in said reservoir, a liquid supply tank, a pump in Communicationwith said tank and said reservoir, means for forwarding said strandacross the surface of said roll, said forwarding means being drivinglyconnected to said pump to provide a rate of flow of liquid from saidtank to said reservoir proportional to the speed of travel of saidstrand, means for driving said roll, and means for automaticallyincreasing and decreasing the speed of said roll to apply a uniformamount of liquid to said strand.

3. Apparatus for applying a predetermined amount of liquid to a movingstrand of filamentary material comprising a rotating applicator mountedin a liquid reservoir. means for moving said strand across saidapplicator. means for supplying liquid to said reservoir at a rateproportional to the speed of travel of said strand. means for drivingsaid applicator, and automatic control means responsive to the level ofthe liquid in said reservoir for increasing and decreasing the speed ofrotation of said applicator.

4. In apparatus for applying a liquid to a moving strand, thecombination comprising 'an applicator roll rotatably mounted in a liquidreservoir, a supply tank in communication With said reservoir, means forforwarding said strand across said roll, a pump for forwarding liquidfrom said supply tank to said reservoir at-a rate proportional to therate of travel of said strand across said roll, a variable speed motorfor driving said roll. a pressure transducer connected to the bottom ofsaid reservoir, and voltage control means operatively connected to saidpressure transducer and to said motor for varying the speed of said rollin response to changes in pressure in said reservoir.

- 4 5. A method of applying to a continuously moving web of material aprescribed amount per unit length of a given substance comprising thesteps of moving said web in arcuate contact with part of the surface ofa driven roller another part of which dips into a reservoir normallycontaining a prescribed amount of said substance, feed- F alterationbeing an increase in the speed of said roller when the amount'ofsubstance in the reservoir increases above the prescribed amount and adecrease in the speed of said roller when the amount of substance in thereservoir decreases below the prescribed amount.

6. Apparatus for applying to a continuously moving web of material aprescribed amount per unit length of a given substance comprising areservoir normally containing a prescribed amount of said substance, adriven furnishing roller mounted for rotation with the lower part of itsperiphery dipping into said reservoir, means for progressing said web ofmaterial with one side thereof in arcuate contact with the upper part ofthe periphery of said furnishing roller. means for feeding saidsubstance in liquid form into said reservoir at a rate proportional tothe speed of said web. saidrate being constant at a constant speed ofthe web, means for sensing any variation in the amount of said substancein said reservoir from the prescribed amount, and means controlled bysaid sensing means for changing the speed of said driven furnishingroller in order to compensate for such variation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,981,638 Jones Apr. 25, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 812,013 Great Britain Apr.15, 1959

5. A METHOD OF APPLYING TO A CONTINUOUSLY MOVING WEB OF MATERIAL APRESCRIBED AMOUNT PER UNIT LENGTH OF A GIVEN SUBSTANCE COMPRISING THESTEPS OF MOVING SAID WEB IN ARCUATE CONTACT WITH PART OF THE SURFACE OFA DRIVEN ROLLER ANOTHER PART OF WHICH DIPS INTO A RESERVOIR NORMALLYCONTAINING A PRESCRIBED AMOUNT OF SAID SUBSTANCE, FEEDING SAID SUBSTANCEIN LIQUID FORM INTO SAID RESERVOIR AT A RATE PREPORTIONAL TO THE SPEEDOF THE WEB, SAID RATE BEING CONSTANT AT A CONSTANT SPEED OF THE WEB,SENSING ANY VARIATION IN THE AMOUNT OF SUBSTANCE IN THE RESERVOIR FROMTHE PRESCRIBED AMOUNT, AND ALTERING THE SPEED OF SAID DRIVEN ROLLER UPONSENSING ANY VARIATION IN THE AMOUNT OF SAID SUBSTANCE IN THE RESERVOIRFROM THE PRESCRIBED AMOUNT IN ORDER TO COMPSENSATE FOR SUCH VARIATION,SAID ALTERATION BEING AN INCREASE IN THE SPEED OF SAID ROLLER WHEN THEAMOUNT OF SUBSTANCE IN THE RESERVOIR INCREASES ABOVE THE PRESCRIBEDAMOUNT AND A DECREASE IN THE SPEED OF SAID ROLLER WHEN THE AMOUNT OFSUBSTANCE IN THE RESERVOIR DECREASES BELOW THE PRESCRIBED AMOUNT.